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16 June 2006
Positive Results From Acupuncture Trial For Fibromyalgia 
Mayo Clinic researchers say a small controlled trial found evidence that suggests acupuncture reduces the symptoms of fibromyalgia. The trial involved 50 fibromyalgia patients in a randomized, controlled trial that set out to determine if acupuncture improved their symptoms. The study, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, found that the symptoms of the patients who received acupuncture significantly improved compared with the control group. There is no known cure for fibromyalgia, and available treatments are only partially effective. The disorder is characterized by chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain and symptoms such as fatigue, joint stiffness and sleep disturbance. "The results of the study convince me there is something more than the placebo effect to acupuncture," says David Martin, author of the study and a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist. "It affirms a lot of clinical impressions that this complementary medical technique is helpful for patients." Although patients are increasingly interested in trying complementary medicine techniques like acupuncture, such techniques often lack scientific evidence to establish their effectiveness. This new study however, lends credence to the notion that non-traditional methods may improve patient health. The researchers said that the patients who received acupuncture to counter their fibromyalgia symptoms reported improvement in fatigue and anxiety, among other symptoms. Additionally, acupuncture was well tolerated, with minimal side effects. Source: Mayo Clinic
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